SV keeps stat sheet clean, EPC floods the pages

By Andrew Harrington
Posted 5/28/25

Spring Valley and Elmwood/Plum City took to the field Thursday for home playoff games to open the softball postseason. It was a tale of two games, as the Cardinals blanked New Auburn 5-0 with 15 …

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SV keeps stat sheet clean, EPC floods the pages

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Spring Valley and Elmwood/Plum City took to the field Thursday for home playoff games to open the softball postseason. It was a tale of two games, as the Cardinals blanked New Auburn 5-0 with 15 strikeouts, and EPC crushed the ball in a 17-2 win.

“With our two seniors that we have, this is the first playoff game we’ve ever won,” Spring Valley Head Coach Matt Ducklow said. “Girls made plays in the field. We had one mistake at first base, but other than that, very clean defensively. That’s two games in a row that we’ve played very well defensively.”

In the circle, it was junior Megan Harvey who asserted dominance in a complete game shutout. Harvey made 15 of the 21 outs strikeouts, leading to the team’s first shutout win of the year.

“A lot of people don’t realize that early on in the year, we didn’t have Megan for about five, six of our games,” Ducklow said. “Now that she’s back, you can kind of tell our girls have a little more confidence in the field because they know Megan is going to put them in positions to make plays.”

At the plate, the Cardinals totaled five hits, two from freshman Willa Meyer, one from junior Evah Butts, one from sophomore Shalikco Timm and one from junior Addison Neidermyer. Ducklow said if they want to keep the run going, the bats will need to come alive.

They find themselves preparing for a road game against Thorp, a team that appeared at State a year ago, May 27.

Spring Valley has two seniors on the roster, Sophia Debrozzo and Zoe Larson. The win marked the first playoff win of their careers, and Ducklow credited them for sticking with the program for four years.

“I just give them credit for sticking with it,” Ducklow said. “A lot of girls could just decide, hey I don’t want to do this, but those two stuck with us.”

With much of the team returning next year and a solid class coming in, Ducklow has high hopes for the future, even mentioning the potential to add a JV team.

“We’ve got a lot of girls returning. We have a very talented incoming group next year, so there’s going to be a lot of competition for spots,” Ducklow said. “When there’s competition, your team just gets better that way.”

 

EPC

EPC won their playoff game 17-2 over Owen-Withee, earning a date with Rib Lake on May 27.

After picking up a couple runs in the top of the first, it all fell apart for Owen-Withee. A two-out cue shot short of the pitcher got senior Britta Link a single. Link stole second and a throw into the outfield brought her all the way home. Later in the inning, Adda Ingli scored on a wild pitch to tie it.

Link then came in to pitch in the top of the second, blanking the opponents for three innings.

Offensively, EPC tallied five in the third and 10 in the fourth on 11 total hits.

It was a carousel of baserunners over the two innings, with Ingli racking up three hits and three runs and Riley Ginsbach finding three of her own.

EPC heads to Rib Lake on May 27 to take on an 11-4 squad. Rib Lake is known for its hitting prowess, frequently found in the double-digits of run scoring.

Spring Valley Cardinals, EPC Wolves, softball playoffs, Dunn-St. Croix